


No Matter What They Say

by Poulman021



Category: Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-08-07 22:45:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7732732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poulman021/pseuds/Poulman021
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Captain America has been missing for a year after the Winter Soldier showed up. The other Avengers finally have a lead to his whereabouts, but what they find isn't exactly what they expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Matter What They Say

            Bruce and Tony were in the lab working on putting a small tranquilizer dart that could shoot out of the Iron Man suit to calm the Hulk. They were completely engrossed in the work when Natasha strode in, confident and apathetic as always as she strode up to their workstation. “We found him.”

            Bruce and Tony’s heads snapped up to look at her incredulously. “Seriously?” Bruce asked.

            “Only took a fucking year.” Tony muttered under his breath.

            Natasha ignored Tony. Addressing Bruce’s question she replied, “We’ve got a location. Sam is flying from DC to meet us here and Clint’s preparing the Quinjet.” Her voice was steely and monotone, probably trying to hide the emotions stirring inside her. “Thor’s still on Asgard.” She added curtly.

            “What do we need to bring?” Tony asked, glancing down at the tranquilizer ready to be installed.

            “It’s a small town. We don’t know the exact building they’re in so we’re going to have to find out from the locals.”

            “So what you’re telling me is don’t fully suit up.” Tony said, not really a question.

            “Exactly.”

            “And how exactly are we going to deal with his captor?” Tony asked with a grimace. They hadn’t really talked about this in months, mostly because all of the trails had run cold.

            “We don’t even know if he was forced to leave or if he went willingly.” Natasha pointed out impatiently; she was anxious. This was the first real lead in months. Bruce grunted his agreement with Natasha; Tony seemed unconvinced.

 

 

            Sam arrived just as Clint was finishing prepping the Quinjet. Tony and Bruce were loading some equipment into the Quinjet—no one else had a clue as to what they were—while confirming things with JARVIS. Natasha was there to greet Sam upon arrival. “And we’re sure it’s him?” Sam asked immediately after exchanging a friendly hug with Natasha. She nodded firmly. Sam released a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding. He dragged a hand through his short hair. “How do we even know if he was kidnapped? Maybe he went willingly.” Sam had thought a lot about this; spent nights slaving over every possibility.

            Natasha sighed, her placid façade falling a bit to show her worry and exhaustion. “We don’t know. But, Sam,” she turned to hold his gaze, “if he was forced against his will, it’s our job as his friends to save him.”

            “But what if we ruin whatever life he built? I mean, maybe he’s been hiding on purpose.” Sam pointed out. His stomach was churning with anticipation.

            “Maybe. But it’s better that we find him first and not the government.” Sam couldn’t argue with that. He bit his lip and nodded.

 

 

            It was a small town that was several hours away from any city in any direction. A forest surrounded the entire town, and a small mountain protected one border of the city. No building was more than two stories. The small downtown area was bustling with about fifty people—probably most of the tiny town’s residents. Stands were set up, selling fruits and vegetables and the occasional art. The Avengers had landed the Quinjet out of view of the town, hidden in the forest, and left any large weapons behind. Sam, Natasha, and Clint had small weapons concealed on their person; Stark had some kind of setup that would send his Iron Man suit to his location from the Quinjet at the click of a button. They all looked out of place in the small town.

            An older woman wearing a worn flannel tucked into her pants wandered over to the group of outsiders, who were standing on the outskirts of the marketplace with unsure looks. She had wrinkles around her eyes from smiling too much and her grey hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail. The older woman was short and busty, but kind all the same. “Something I can help you folks with?” Her voice was scratchy from years of smoking.

            All of them turned to the woman uncertainly. Thankfully Natasha was always good at easing into conversation with complete strangers. “We’re looking for a friend.” She began with a smile.

            “Well, it’s a pretty small town so I’m sure I can help you with that.” The lady offered.

            Tony stepped forward, hating the polite small talk. “He’s about 6’2”, blond, blue eyes, built like a tank.” Bruce glared at Tony’s abruptness. They were all sure that he hadn’t used his real name when hiding, or at least he hadn’t gotten a choice in the matter.

            The lady laughed. “Oh, yes of course. He attends church every Sunday with his friend.” She leaned in and lowered her voice. “Most people were surprised they showed up to church at first. You know, small town; small minds.” Clint and Natasha didn’t drop their neutral expressions, but everyone else wrinkled their eyebrows in confusion. The lady continued, “But they’re such nice young men—the whole town eventually came around. And they’ve never missed a Sunday service.”

            Tony scoffed. “Yeah, that definitely sounds like him. He wouldn’t miss church even if aliens invaded. Which he didn’t.”

            “Could you tell us where he lives?” Sam asked hopefully.

            “Oh, sure thing!” She said cheerily. Stepping to the side a bit to point up a road that led up to the mountain, she instructed, “Just follow this road here and it’ll take you up to their cabin. They might be out and about right now though.” She clarified, “They repair things. Broke my favorite rocking chair last month and they fixed it right up, good as new. Truly wonderful boys.”

            They all thanked the elderly woman before beginning their trek up the road. Sam gave Natasha a concerned look and the two had a conversation with their eyes about the peculiar circumstances of the whole situation. Halfway up the hill, Tony piped up, “Anyone else confused by this whole thing? I thought the assumption was that he was kidnapped. But the way grandma cheerful described it, sounds like he’s just enjoying a small town life with his long-time friend who also just so happens to be the deadliest assassin in history.” No one said anything because they were all too busy combing through their own thoughts. None of this was making sense. “And what did granny mean about people being surprised they went to church? Cap practically _screams_ traditional American do-gooder.”

 

            The rest of the trek up the side of the mountain was in silence. About two-thirds of the way up the mountain, the road went from paved to dirt and they could all see the structure of a building through the trees. It was a small, one-story cabin with a pickup truck parked out front and a chair swing on the porch. As they made their way to the front door, they stopped at the sound of a dog barking. Rounding the corner of the cabin was a golden retriever, shiny and glistening fur and tongue lolling out of its mouth as it barked and ran toward the stunned Avengers. Its tail was wagging and was almost within range to tackle one of them when a voice called, “Sarah!” from just around the cabin’s corner. The dog—Sarah—reeled back, her legs scrambling as she turned around to run back from where she came, still barking excitedly. A man turned the corner then, the dog jumping around him with tail wagging and barks chirping happily. He was laughing at the dog, putting his hands out to try and get her to calm down. His dark hair was pulled back into a bun. He wore a long-sleeve shirt and a glove on his left hand. His jeans were faded and a little dirty.

            All of the Avengers tensed at the sight of the Winter Soldier. The moment he looked up from the dog he froze. He gave off the impression of calm and neutral, but Natasha and Clint were all too familiar with the way his muscles tensed invisibly, preparing for a fight. “Can I help you?” he asked casually, an edge of steel hidden in his tone.

            “We’re looking for Steve.” Sam said, keeping his eyes trained on the Winter Soldier’s grey-blue ones. The Winter Soldier examined Sam, assessing him as a threat before recognition slightly colored his face. _These are Steve’s friends_ , he told himself. He slowly turned out his hands so they were palms out, trying to appear nonthreatening and showing the group in front of him that he had no weapons on him.

            Keeping his voice calm and controlled, the Winter Soldier supplied, “Steve’s out working a job on the other side of town. He should be back soon, though.” He glanced over his shoulder to one of the windows of the house before turning his attention back on the five people before him. “I was just about to make dinner. You can come inside and wait and have dinner with us.” He felt weird inviting these people—some of which he had attacked in the past—into their home, but he knew it’s what Steve would’ve done.

            Different expressions passed over the Avengers’ faces. Sam and Clint looked uncertain; Bruce looked worried as usual; Tony looked enraged, as if he’d just been invited to a shit show. Tony was just opening his mouth to refuse with a snide remark when Natasha stepped forward and said, “That would be great. Thank you.” The Winter Soldier gave her a polite nod before leading the way up the porch with Sarah hot on his heels. The other four guys gaped at her before reluctantly following.

            The inside of the cabin was neat and well decorated, though it lacked photos. Some paintings were hung about. From what the five of them could see, the house was composed of a combined living room and kitchen, a bathroom, and two rooms down the hallway. The Winter Soldier led them to sit on the couch set in the living room. Natasha was mapping out all exits and possible places where weapons were hidden. She sat in between Clint and Sam while Bruce and Tony took the smaller couch. Sarah sat in front of Natasha, wedging her head between her knees. She panted and wagged her tail, looking up at Natasha with big brown eyes expectantly. Hesitantly, Natasha raised her hand to scratch behind the golden retriever’s ear. Sarah’s tail thumped loudly against the carpet in response. “She likes you.” The Winter Soldier mused while he reached into a cabinet in the kitchen area and pulled out a large pot. He filled it with water and set it on the stove. While he continued to pull stuff out of cabinets and prepare dinner, the Avengers all gazed down the hallway. One of the room’s door was halfway open, revealing a king size bed with a nightstand on each side. Above the bed was Captain America’s shield, hung up just like the paintings that decorated the living room. Underneath the shield were a rifle and a mask: the Winter Soldier’s mask. Tony nudged Bruce with his elbow and pointed at the wall display in the bedroom. His eyebrows were raised and he seemed to be trying to convey a message to Bruce.

            Tony glanced nervously at the Winter Soldier busy cooking in the kitchen before leaning in. The rest of the Avengers followed suit, leaning in as Tony whispered incredulously, “Do they share a room?”

            Sam exchanged glances with Natasha before putting in, “They did way back then, when they shared an apartment before they both went off to fight in the war.” Tony’s eyebrows shot up again, clearly amused.

            All of their heads snapped up when Sarah let out a single bark and the sound of a motorcycle approached. The Winter Soldier’s eyes were on them, so they all stayed seated on the couches as the motorcycle engine was cut. Moments later, the front door swung open and Sarah leapt up from where she sat in front of Natasha to run to the door excitedly. Steve bent down to ruffle Sarah’s head, his own hair messy from riding the motorcycle without a helmet. He was wearing dark jeans and a faded flannel with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. His blue eyes hadn’t yet caught sight of his teammates lodged in his living room. Steve was grinning at the Winter Soldier, standing up and moving towards him as he said, “Sorry I’m a little late, Buck. Mrs. Goldwater always insists on making me tea whenever I fix something for her.” His whole demeanor seemed lighter than any of them had ever seen before. Steve put his arm on the Winter Soldier’s back and leaned in to give him a kiss, but the Winter Soldier—Bucky—cleared his throat and his eyes darted to the side where the Avengers were all watching. Immediately stepping away from Bucky, Steve swung his head around to finally notice his friends all crowded in his living room. “Wha—What are you guys doing here?” He stuttered, blue eyes wide and utterly surprised.

            “The good manners at the Tower were suffering, so we thought we’d bring you back to balance it out.” Tony remarked sassily. Bucky snorted from behind Steve, which surprised the Avengers, but was otherwise ignored.

            Sam stood up slowly, making sure to keep his hands visible at all times because the Winter Soldier was eyeing him suspiciously, and said, “Steve, we’ve been looking for you for a _year._ ” Steve winced at Sam’s hurt tone.

            Natasha stood up behind him. “We weren’t sure if the Winter Soldier was holding you captive.”

            Steve’s eyebrows scrunched forward as he processed Natasha’s words. “He’s not.” He said firmly. Sighing, he ran a hand through his blond hair and frowned. “With the government after the Winter Soldier… we had to disappear.”

            “And there wasn’t some voice in the back of your head screaming, oh, I don’t know, that _the Winter Soldier is the deadliest fucking assassin in history_?” Tony practically shouted.

            Steve’s jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed. “He’s my best friend, Tony.”

            “We know he’s Bucky Barnes.” Clint said lightly, always kind and trying to mediate Tony and Steve’s arguments. “But he’s also the Winter Soldier.”

            “Not anymore.” Steve said firmly. A tense silence fell over them for a few minutes.

            “Okay fine. He’s not the Winter Soldier.” Sam complied. “But that doesn’t explain why you disappeared with him.” He sounded accusing. Something in Steve’s gut twisted at the hurt in Sam’s voice.

            Steve pursed his lips and opened his mouth to give an answer, but words didn’t come out. Bucky had moved from where he was cooking in the kitchen to stand beside Steve protectively, his face still passive and eyes still searching the Avengers for any incoming threat. Steve tried opening his mouth again to actually form words, but Natasha beat him to it, “Because they’re together.” Steve’s mouth clamped shut. His knees felt wobbly and his stomach lurched. This was something he’d been hiding his entire life. Something they’d both been keeping secret since 1938.

            “Wait, you’re saying that Cap and cold, dark, and scary are _together?_ As in _romantically involved?_ ” Tony clarified in an almost hysterical tone. Bruce elbowed him—hard—in the ribs. The other Avengers were looking between Steve and Bucky, causing a blush to crawl up Steve’s neck. Sam was smirking at him—always the supporting friend.

            Ignoring Tony, as always, Natasha said softly, “If we found you, the government isn’t far behind.” Steve’s eyes widened in panic and he turned to Bucky. Bucky calmly held Steve’s gaze.

            “You could come back to the Tower.” Sam suggested, causing Bucky and Steve to look at him with raised eyebrows. “If they think you’re both still on the run, it’ll be a long time until they figure out you’re back in the Tower.”

            “And if they come knocking, we’d be there to back you up.” Clint added with a confident smile.

            Steve turned his attention back to Bucky, who was looking between each of the Avengers and chewing his lip as he turned the idea over in his head. Slowly, he nodded. “Let’s eat dinner and then we’ll pack.”

 

 

            At first dinner was awkward and quiet, the only noise being the sound of Sarah’s wagging tail as she roamed around the kitchen table begging for scraps. At some point, Sam began to politely ask Steve and Bucky about their lives in the small town: how they were able to remain unrecognized, the work they did, how the townspeople felt about two guys being in a relationship and still showing up to church. The conversation seemed to loosen Steve and Bucky up because they started making snarky remarks toward one another and cracking up at one another’s jokes. “Man, I’ve never seen you actually happy before!” Sam commented, a grin plastered on his face for how glad he was.

            Steve shrugged, slightly embarrassed. “I didn’t even know Cap could laugh.” Tony capitalized.

            A soft laugh left his lips and he explained, “It’s because you’ve never seen me with Bucky before.”

 

 

            Turned out, the second room down the hall had been Steve’s art studio. Littering the floor were canvases covered in sketches and paintings of Steve and Bucky before the war, arms around each other and laughing; Brooklyn from way back then; portraits of Peggy and the Howling Commandos; the train and icy canyon that Bucky fell into; Times Square; the Avengers standing side-by-side. Bruce, Clint, and Tony had been assigned to pack the studio up for moving while Sam and Natasha helped Steve and Bucky pack up the bedroom. Steve and Bucky stood with their shoulders touching as they packed a large suitcase. Sam frowned, sad thoughts circulating through his head. “You two probably had to go through a lot of trouble to hide your relationship back then.” Steve nodded grimly, keeping his eyes on his hands as they folded clothes and tucked them into the suitcase. “What happened if you got caught?”

            Bucky’s eyebrows pulled forward as he glared down at the suitcase in front of him. “Let’s just say you’d be lucky if all they did was arrest you. Most queers got beaten to death.” Sam felt a lump rise in his throat. Bucky forced out a bitter laugh, one that was filled with sadness and regret. “The original plan had been for us to fall in love with some nice dames, settle down, and raise our kids together. Stevie probably would’ve married Peggy… But I guess things didn’t really work out like that.”

            “But hey, we got to be together. That’s something, ain’t it?” Steve asked sadly, a small smile pulling at the corners of his lips despite the fact that it didn’t come close to reaching his eyes. Bucky returned Steve’s smile and placed his metal hand (he’d taken off the glove) on Steve’s right hand, stroking it lightly with his thumb.

 

 

            Leaving behind the house was hard for Steve. He stood in the doorway, gripping his shield in his hands tight enough to make his knuckles white. The other Avengers were gathered behind Steve and Bucky on the porch, waiting patiently. Bucky put his hands on Steve’s broad shoulders, rubbing them soothingly and murmuring, “We don’t need it, Stevie. All we ever need is each other.” After a moment, Steve nodded slowly and turned around. Bucky wrapped an arm around Steve as they made their way back to the Quinjet, Sarah following behind and wagging her tail.


End file.
